Ace of Cups
by AubergineTrends
Summary: Any young woman who has read and loved the Twilight series wishes they could be thrust into it, somehow. How will Vi handle things when such an opportunity arises, and she takes Bella's place from the beginning? It won't be as easy as she thought! R&R.
1. First Card: The Ace of Cups

I hadn't planned for this to happen. If I wished or prayed for it, I could honestly not recall having ever uttered the words, "I _wish_ I were in Bella's place." Honestly, sure I'd told my friends I'd have handled things much better especially when it came to the love triangle, that I...damn, I did use the word _wish_ at one point, didn't I?

Maybe that could explain why I was sitting here, at the exact same lunch table Bella Swan was supposed to be sitting at, watching Mike Newton goof off when Bella Swan was supposed to be watching Newton goof off, and most importantly, avoiding the eyes of one extremely handsome vampire who the entire world knew as Edward Cullen. The world I'd been plucked from. The world I was supposed to be focusing on getting back to. But when you've caught the topaz eyes of the most sought-after fictional character, would _**you**_ be focused on leaving those eyes?

Yeah, I didn't think so.

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So I guess, like they say in group therapy sessions, the best place to start is at the beginning. There's nothing too special about me, save for a few oddities my upbringing has graciously given me but I'll get into that later. My name is Viorica, and yes it sounds weird and it's awkward to pronounce unless you're Romanian, so everyone calls me V, which I don't mind at all, especially ever since V for Vendetta came to the big screen in '06, what a great vigilante. It means 'bluebell' and my mother gave the name to me because of my eyes, which were the exact color of bluebells. The neat thing about bluebells is they are a more light purple-y shade of blue, and you don't exactly see that shade of iris on a lot of people, unless you're albino, which I wasn't, as far as my haircolor went, anyway.

I have black hair, jet black that curls at the bottom pretty nicely and recently my bangs have been curling slightly too, which is incredibly annoying to straighten in the mornings, so lately at the age of 20 I haven't been bothering to do anything about it. Yes, I'm 20, _was_ attending an art University in Chicago when I got a call from my mother about her debts affecting her health and she was in the hospital currently, dealing with heart palpitations and raised blood pressure. My mother wouldn't know relaxation if it bit her in the rear, and I swear I'd tried everything, I even brought her with me to Italy when I saved up enough to go with my class focused on Renaissance art.

Alas, nothing I said could calm her down, so I took the money I'd been saving for a trip back to Romania, and sent it to my mother to pay off her bills. It wasn't enough, my job wasn't paying enough, and with the recession, the country I lived in was becoming a giant thorn in my side. I've been frugal but now it was ridiculous how careful I was with how I spent money. Spring break came along and I had nowhere to go, so I took a plane to visit my father. Lo and behold I found myself back in my old bedroom, with two suitcases unpacked save for my dvd player and a few books, a textbook on British Lit, a biography of Nicolae Tessla, and of course, a worn paperback copy of Twilight.

It was the second night of me skillfully dodging my father's questions about my mother, ignoring my mother's calls, and skipping dinner with a cup of vanilla soymilk in hand and Twilight in the other as I made my way outside onto the porch, enjoying the unusually warm, rainy evening's silence. I loved it when it rained, the smell, what it did to the color of everything. That was the night I'd answered my best friend Joy's call, answering in Romanian just to catch her off guard. That was the night we'd talked about Twilight, like always. That was the night I opened my big mouth and said I wish, I wish I were in Bella's position. No, I said place. Specifically. And that's how when I woke up the next morning, after rinsing out my glass and crawling into bed, when I woke up, I found myself in a squad car, well, Jeep, rather, next to none other than Chief Swan.

I'm not one for cursing, but immediately what rang through my head was one single word. Shit. Merde. Rahat. Mierda. The Jeep stopped in front of that famous house that had been imagined by thousands and thousands of teenagers and pre-teens, and my acid reflux was suddenly acting up big time. Normally, I'd blame this on how vivid my dreams can be, but I know the difference, and I've gotten pretty good at controlling my dreams. I'd have already skipped to meeting Edward by now, and the dream would be skipping, like all my dreams do, and the colors would be off a bit, brighter than they should, especially in a town where sunlight is scarce. That startling fact I had suddenly bothered to remember made me groan. I had just gotten over dealing with S.A.D this past winter, and now I had to deal with no sunlight again? I suddenly hated this place as much as Bella had. Well, her and I had that in common, at least.

"Bells? You comin' in or what?" Oh, yeah, we had the same nickname, too. When my family that wasn't Romanian didn't feel like saying V, they called me Bells, short for, yeah you guessed it, _'Bluebells'_. Excellent. Fantastic. I knew my name hadn't changed because Charlie had asked me earlier if everyone still called me V.

Unloading the Jeep I realized that my suitcases hadn't changed and I figured neither had the clothes and whatever else hadn't either. That was a relief, me and Bella weren't exactly the same body type. I was more...chesty, but both of us didn't have much to keep our pants up if you know what I mean. I had a slightly thicker waist than her as well, but I blame that on my blatant refusal to work out between my job and finishing lengthy essays and art projects, and my love for white chocolate. But enough about me, what the hell was I doing, planning on staying here? As I looked out the all-too-familiar window, pulling on the zipper of my gray jacket, I already knew my answer. I'd have to stay long enough to at least see Jacob Black and Edward Cullen...I mean, what a waste this opprotunity would be if I didn't, right? Right.

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**I'm not too fond of Bella, so shamelessly I've put my character in her place to see how things could have been handled differently, from a more lucid point of view, I guess. I realize Mary Sues are a bit of a pain in the ass, but this is not at all going to be on that level of ridiculous, I assure you. I might not even have V paired with anyone, so stay tuned, if you please. It gets better. Or maybe it'll get worse. That's the chance I'm willing to take, how about you? :D **


	2. Second Card: The Chariot

As much as I didn't mind cooking, doing it every night when I might otherwise be busy dealing with vampires was going to be tedious, so I told Charlie kindly after noticing that there was barely any food for me to work with in the first place, that he should invest in a crockpot. He told me I could go grocery shopping tomorrow and pick one up if I wanted to, and when I asked what time he'd get off work so we could go together, he looked seriously shocked that I'd suggested bonding and mumbled about the truck. As in, that red junk heap that Bella was so fond of. I decidedly wasn't. Not at all for aesthetic reasons, but safety reasons. The monster looked like it'd crap out on me any second, but at least the tires were new, and Charlie informed me proudly that his friend's son, Jacob, had fixed the engine himself. I got excited at the mention of the shapeshifter's name, and I guess my tone was cheery enough because Charlie was glowing from the time we had left the house for the town diner.

Now, the town diner wasn't exactly how the movie had depicted it, but that was all right, why on earth would I care about detail at a time like this? Luckily _this_ waitress didn't get me berry cobbler, and was less chatty than the one in the movie. And of course I had nothing to refer to as far as the book went, so I was pretty much flying by the seat of my pants. Which was easier than I'd expected, honestly. Charlie was pretty easy to talk to once you found a subject he liked or felt comfortable with, so I just asked him about his job, how fishing was this time of year, I even asked him about dating, which he blushed about and promptly avoided talking about by shoving a piece of steak in his mouth.

I had ordered a bacon cheeseburger, which I absolutely wolfed down and I happily gave Charlie my fries. I was shy at times, but I had no problem bonding with anyone that was genuinely nice or at least making an effort to be friendly with me. That was something that had always bugged me about Bella. She had a great father, and it seemed like she never really tried to strengthen that father-daughter relationship. Sure, she cared, but Edward just gobbled her up, mind, body and soul and it seemed like she never really made an effort to reach out and keep in close touch with anyone who didn't rely on blood to stay alive. I knew how silly people could get when they were in love, but I had also seen people be much healthier about it. Not that I was speaking from experience, I had never been in love, and wasn't in a rush too either. I had three reasons. I was too young, too busy, and men my age and even older seemed to have a one-track mind.

Moving on, the rest of the night was pretty uneventful. I watched baseball with Charlie for a bit while I ate my slice of carrot cake I had brought back, wished him a good night's sleep and headed up to bed myself, showering before I unpacked and slipped into bed with Twilight, quickly preparing myself for what would happen tomorrow. Damn, Bella and I were completely different, so I didn't think Edward was exactly going to have the same reaction to me as he had to her. But, if I was taking her place, maybe he would? I always err on the side of caution so I decided I'd be better off guarding my thoughts until I was certain that Edward couldn't read them as well. Then I got to thinking about Jasper, and damn, I realized that I'd have to be an emotionless, expressionless mummy. Rats. My acting had better be up to par, or I'd have five suspicious vampires on my hands. Eep.

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I woke up to my phone blaring Deftones' "Cherry Waves" which was serving as my alarm, and I was immediately out of bed. I'm able to be both a night owl and an early bird, but how could I have possibly not been excited to get to Forks High School, Home of the Spartans today? As I washed my face though, I remembered that I'd basically be repeating high school. Then I suddenly remember how much I'd hated highschool. Crap! I groaned and scrubbed sleep from my eyes as I mumbled my complaints to the water. Oh well, I didn't recall Bella taking classes that were that difficult, I'd just have to see about changing a few. There was no way I was going to be stuck here and not have an art class. Or maybe, since it was me, Viorica, and not Isabella, I'd have the classes I took at my old highschool?

I didn't give myself too much time to think about classes as I threw on what I thought was good enough for the first day of school, a black-aqua bat wing hoody I remember buying two months ago from American Apparel and a high-waisted, white, full-length skirt with a poplin hem I'd purchased from Urban Outfitters one month ago. I went with black knee socks under long brown boots of equal length and barely had enough time to eat some toast, fix my hair and throw on some light eye shadow and lipbalm before I was flying out the door with my worn brown leather bookbag, my heart racing as I slowly, very slowly made my way to school. I'm no Speedy Gonzalez, but the speed I was going at would have been slightly annoying to be, had I not been afraid that going over forty would kill Big Red.

As expected however I made it to Forks High in one piece, parking away from the crowds of kids and mentally going over what was 'supposedly' going to occur today. I would have to think about three things always. Song lyrics, books (except for the obvious four that I could never, EVER let anyone in this world know about) and artists. I could ramble, mentally or out loud for hours about my favorite artists so this wouldn't be too difficult for me. I also had to keep in mind that I was 17, though I did seem a little bit more mature than I should have looked at 17. Thanks to a few quirks of the blood running through my veins though I had a habit of looking young in the face. Murmuring a Romanian prayer, I left the safe haven that was Big Red and walked towards the doors of the school that would soon swallow me up, for who knows how long.

So far no one had approached me, but it was coming, I knew it. I was getting stared at, eyes on me from any corner, any angle, any direction. It was incredibly unnerving, but I just smiled kindly in return and held my head up. Then, ta-da, there it was, Eric Yorkie at my side, stating who I was with a question but having a very rough time pronouncing my name. I internally grinned at this. Bella would've been better off with my name, then it'd give people no choice but to call her by a nickname.

"Sorry, I've never heard a name like yours, how do you say it?" I sounded it out for Eric, rolling my r's like always and for some reason that was mindblowing. "You can call me V though, that's much easier." And there it was, the look of relief when I offered people a nickname. I let him guide me to the main office, though I'd already caught sight of it up ahead and to the left, and he was kind enough to stay with me while I retrieved my schedule, student handbook and introduced myself to the redheaded woman behind the desk. I gave her my nickname as well, returned her wishes of a good day, and talked to Eric Yorkie about Chicago while he walked me to my first class, English. Apparently, I wasn't from Phoenix, Arizona either. That was just fine with me, I didn't know a thing about the place and state save for the weather. I thanked Eric for his chivalry though I was sure he had ulterior motives, as did everyone that I would soon run into in this school, save for Angela Webber, who I was really looking forward to meeting.

A couple of the books on the list I'd already read, and I was rusty with Mary Shelley's Frankenstein so I was actually looking forward to repeating Honors Lit. I wasn't however looking forward to my next class, which was Algebra II, something I'd never been great at and had barely passed the first time around. Damn, double damn. The teacher was nice enough when I talked to him and he introduced my friendly self, and though I was recieved pretty well I guess I dressed a little out of style, for the age of my new peers that is. I'm no Coco Chanel but I keep with the times. I certainly wasn't changing my wardrobe for the sea of raging hormones that sat before me, that was for sure.

'Nose down, V,' I reminded myself, and spotted no Cullens or Hales so I sat myself next to a friendly-looking girl with choppy red hair who introduced herself to me as Sara, and I felt I would easily be able to get along with her by just looking at her Beatles t-shirt and the blue roses she'd drawn on her left arm. We had Painting together, and I asked if they had Independent Study as a class option, which, to my surprise, they did, and she was trying to get the same option but it was available to Seniors only. "But hey, don't let that get you down, there's an Art Club that I'm Vice-Pres of if you want in. We meet every Wednesday, so it looks like you'll have to wait 'til next week, if you want to come." I assured her I was definitely in, and we spent the entire hour of Mr. Mason's class drawing cartoons of The Beatles.

Next I had Algebra II, and sure enough I was next to one Jessica Stanley, with nice curly hair and a very obnoxious way of whispering. Whoever had landed me in this Twilight world had been gracious enough to spare me Bella's Trig class, but hadn't spared me Jessica. To her defense, Jessica wasn't a rarity, as far as her behavior shown in the series went. She was just a teenage girl trying to make it through the drama that boys and makeup brought. This school didn't have too much trouble with cliques I noticed, but no highschool was ever fresh out of gossip when you had a Jessica Stanley around.

I chatted her up about the music scene in Chicago, though I could tell it wasn't that interesting unless I mentioned seeing a celebrity or something, though I honestly could care less about celebrities. She was not in French, which was what I had, but had Spanish in the classroom next to me, so she offered to take me to my next class, which was European History and then to the cafeteria for lunch. Both of these classes went by pretty fast, my French teacher was happy I was pretty fluent in two languages, I threw my nickname out to several more people and European History was spent with me chatting with the teacher about Eastern European History while everyone else took out their cellphones or i-Pods and had fun during their rare free period, though it seemed to me like the 'teach' was pretty lax on the rules of no gadgetry during school hours.

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Then came the moment of truth, or at least the big introduction to Forks' friendly neighborhood vampires. Even as Jessica introduced me to the rest of the ladies and gentlemen of her square table to me I was currently singing the lyrics to Incubus's "Anna Molly" in my head as I simultaneously said hello to everyone, offered another smile and went with Jessica and Eric to the lunchline, my hungry eyes leading my hands to a BLT sandwich, a pickle and some vanilla soymilk, so so pleased that they actually sold soymilk. Later I'd learn that Suze was actually responsible for that and after a year of petitions the School Board made it happen. Anyway, there I was, chowing down on my sandwich and not at all caring about being ladylike about it, because, face it, there's no wrong way to eat a sandwich, when Jessica actually had to alert me to their highschool's "celebrities".

I swallowed whatever was in my mouth and sipped on my soymilk as she pointed and named them all one by one as they seated themselves around their table gracefully, offering tidbits of gossip I had already heard. Then of course I played my part and said, "Oh really?" and "That's cool," and I was very genuine when I commented on how sad it was that Esme Cullen couldn't have children. That was something very negative about being a vampire, you could never have children of your own, hence why you had to turn humans into vampires instead. Yeah, you could say I'd done my research. Vampires and werewolves are the first stories you'll ever hear growing up in Romania, guaranteed. The funny thing about how they all looked was that it was a mix of the actors and actresses that had portrayed them in the movie adaptation, and the image I'd built up in my mind while reading the books. But, of course, they were carved gods and goddesses of sexy, that hadn't changed one bit.

"Ah, who's the handsome one without a bird by his side?" Yes, I said bird. "Oh, that's Edward. He's gorgeous, of course, but don't waste your time. He doesn't date. apparently none of the girls here are good-looking enough for him." And sure enough, she scoffed and played with her hair and exhibited all the signs of a girl that's been turned down and is thoroughly embarrassed about it. I counted to ten and was halfway there when those black eyes were focused on mine, a confused expression on dear Edward Cullen's face. I arched an eyebrow and stared at him challengingly. Expect no curtains of hair here hon, I'm onto you. And that's when his eyes widened and I wanted to promptly choke on my pickle, because damn it all if that wasn't the expression of someone who had just heard my sarcasm. I panicked and started singing Phantom of the Opera's "All I Ask of You," in my head of course, and he immediately had that confused look on his face again. Hmm, either he was confused about my interest in Gerard Butler as the Phantom of Le Opera Populaire or something was faulty with my wiring and he wasn't getting a clear reading.

I didn't stick around to find out, and quickly excused myself to the bathroom after finishing my lunch and chatting briefly with those interested in brief chatter. I paced the blue and white tiles of the girl's bathroom across from the cafeteria and collected my thoughts. Obviously, this wasn't going to be like the version of Twilight I and the rest of the my world was familiar with. Oh no, this was going to be absolutely and completely different. Once again I found myself saying, "_Shit_."

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**Ello again, how do you do? I'm doing just fine, as judged by this chapter. Updating is incredibly difficult for me, due to my habits of procrastination and the frequent ADD that only occurs when I'm working on a story. Also, I wanted to point out that I'm naming chapters after cards that are found in a Tarot card deck. The cards that are used for each Chapter Title are extremely relevant to the chapter's content. So I guess I'll explain what the first two cards represent that I've used so far. The Ace of Cups represents a beginning of an emotional nature, either by the birth of child or a relationship. Seeing as I am NEVER letting my character produce a vampire hybrid, you can guess that I am foreshadowing the beginning of a relationship. With who? We'll find out later ;). For this chapter, I used The Chariot, which represents a clear goal, and the powerful forces needed to achieve that goal. It could also represent a battle or a Hero/Heroes entering your life or this case, story. If you want to read more, I got all of this from wikipedia, since I'm not exactly an expert yet on tarot. Thank you for reading and have a nice day! :D :D :D**

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	3. Third Card: The Devil

_Of course_ I had Biology II. Of course I'd have Biology II with Mr. Banner, it only makes sense, right? It was so odd, I didn't even have to look around to see if Edward was there, I could feel him. I could also feel that Mike was in my class as well as Angela. Weird thing I have going for me, the ability to feel presences. It's in a way pretty primal, there's a change in the air or something when a certain person I've become familiar with is around me, but it's also a spiritual thing, I'll even risk sounding lame and describe it as recognizing auras, but by the way they feel to my own spirit. Again, please give the credit of my weirdness to my upbringing and heritage.

Introducing myself to Mr. Banner who gave me a book and pointed to that conveniently open seat next to Edward, I immediately felt off-balance as I made my way down the aisle. You know how you sometimes get that funny feeling that you're not really in control of your body? You're sort of stumbling around, your legs are directing you instead of you directing your legs?

That's exactly how I felt in that moment, and I used my empty right hand to steady myself as I wobbled my way to my seat, singing "Brothers On A Hotel Bed" by Death Cab For Cutie in my head as I sat down and turned slightly to Edward, a polite smile on my face and my eyes bracing for the open hostility, should my blood be as appetizing as Bella's.

Funny, he didn't seem hostile, or furious with me. He looked incredibly puzzled, and I raised my eyebrows at his expression, waiting to see if he'd actually dare to say anything or if he'd ignore me. Then, there it was, the look of unadulterated hatred, but it was still mixed with confusion and though I had noticed he had stopped breathing, he wasn't reaching up to block his nose and he wasn't gripping the desk, though I noticed he was clenching his fists.

"Nice to meet you too." I offered softly, and I was trying so, so hard not to smirk so I simply turned away from the vampire with the internal struggle and waved slightly to Angela, who seemed to be mighty interested in Edward's reaction to me.

I winked at her and smiled as I turned to my book, flipping through the pages in interest. Seeing as I'd been attending an art university, I'd never really kicked it with Biology since high school, so it was a nice little reunion full of worms and photosynthesis and homeostasis.

Every now and then I sneaked looks at Edward and yes, he was staring, with that attractive mixture of confusion and fury present on his beautiful pale face. Sure enough, he was up and out of his chair seconds before the bell rang, the first one to leave, leaving me in a cloud of handsome vampire dust. I took my time packing up and walked with Michael and Angela out of the classroom, waiting for Michael's very astute comment on Edward's immediate dislike of me.

"So you're Vi..Vior...Viorica Swan, right? Did I pronounce it right?" He didn't, but he tried so I laughed it off for him and gave him my nickname. "You can call me V. And you are?"

"Mike, Mike Newton, do you need help getting to your next class?" I didn't have gym next actually, I had Painting, which I was very much looking forward to with Sara, or Suze, or...no I'm sure it was Sara. "Yeah actually, I have no idea where your art department is. If it isn't out of your way, I'd love some guidance."

Boy, it did not take much to make this guy smile, I was afraid his cheeks were going to be as sore as mine by the end of the day. I exchanged numbers with Angela before she left for her class down the other end of the hall, and Mike told me all about California, South California and I asked him about San Diego and he confirmed for me that San Diego did indeed have the best zoo and aquarium. He was in my English class too, and told me he wasn't particularly thrilled about Frankenstein. Oh well, to each his own, right?

"So, what'd you do to Edward Cullen, spill formaldehyde on his clothes or something? I've never seen him that...angry or constipated or whatever." That made me burst out laughing, this was a better comment than the Mike in the book had provided. "Seriously, that's the impression you got? I only said 'Nice to meet you' so maybe that somehow offended him, who knows." I shifted my books, my biography of Nicolae Tessla jostling around and just begging to be read.

"He's pretty weird, yeah, I mean, if I were sitting next to you I'd definitely talk to you, no problem." I grinned at Mike's friendliness and thanked him exuberantly as we parted ways and I found myself sketching out a painting of a classic scene in Dracula for an hour, a carriage drawn by four dark horses headed towards the legendary castle. It seemed that I had vampires on the brain, and Sara decided to do a charcoal of the three vampires brides for me. We also exchanged numbers before the class ended, and with dirty hands we left together for the parking lot, before I remembered that I had to quickly run to the office for a few seconds of quality Edward Cullen hatred thrown in my direction.

Breathing a little heavier than I'd have liked, I entered the main office with my book bag held against my chest protectively as I immediately was greeted with an irate Edward Cullen that had stopped me from running into him. Apparently, he was just leaving, and I was very much in the way. Those cold fingers squeezed my arms tightly and then immediately withdrew, and just like that, the vampire was gone, and I was laughing nervously as the woman behind the desk asked me if I was alright. Well, that went...better than expected, I guess. I bit my bottom lip as I walked to the parking lot, most of it having already emptied, and sensing no vampires I let my thoughts flow freely, mostly focused on how different things had already been for me as compared to the events that occurred originally in Twilight.

One, I'd already shared physical contact with Edward, and there'd been no shocking revelation, well at least on my part, since I'd already expected the cold touch. Two, he more or less was suspicious of whatever was going on in my head, and I could only take his confusion to mean that he got a glimpse as to what was inside, but didn't get the whole picture. So that was a relief, if my guess was in fact correct. I blasted the heat and the radio when I started up ol' Big Red, and the rest of that night was spent with Charlie and I grocery shopping, cooking, watching baseball and then finally it ended with me starting an essay, showering, and falling into a deep sleep. The next day would consist of Edward being absent, and then I'd have the weekend to most likely do absolutely nothing. I wonder if Charlie would be up for letting me buy some canvas and paints...

Friday went by pretty easy like I'd expected it to. Angela and I made plans to go the art store Saturday and I asked Sara if she wanted to come over for dinner or something tonight, and since it was raining Sara must've been inspired and asked if we could make it into a monster movie night. I had no problem with that suggestion and the rest of the day passed with Mike talking about the La Push trip, Eric talking about a new indie band, Jessica talking about Mike.

She'd asked me upfront if I saw anyone I liked and I flat out told her that I didn't feel like getting serious a year and a half before graduation. So, she took that as the go-ahead to talk about everything Mike Newton said and did, asking for my interpretation. Damn, this was one of the main reasons why I had disliked highschool in the first place. Edward Cullen was missing of course on this pleasant rainy day, and the rest of the family had taken to staring at me.

Also, strange development, Alice Cullen turned out to be in my art class, but she made no attempt to talk to me, which I didn't mind at all. I was incredibly intimidated by her, as I was by anyone who could see the future. Me? I only had gypsy tricks taught to me by my grandmother, but Alice was the real deal, so obviously I was a little overwhelmed around her.

After school I was rushing around like crazy, making cupcakes and explaining to Charlie my plans for the evening and for Saturday, and he seemed really genuinely happy about my making friends. Bless that man's heart, he just wants his daughter to fit in. I spent my time waiting for Sara's arrival with talking to Charlie about my classes and he had no problem handing over some money for art supplies, which I gratefully hugged him for. The man really was a big softie for a police Chief, that was for sure. After introducing himself to Sara, Charlie left for bed early, allowing the girl time that he suspected would be full of giggles and boy talk to commence. On the contrary, Sara was eager to get started on the movies, and she pulled out a bunch of classic vampire movies, Bela Lugosi, Christopher Lee, even some in Italian that I recognized. Wow, she was as much a vampire buff as I was.

It was in the middle of chowing down on cupcakes that Sara posed a question to me that made me choke on the vanilla lump I was currently trying to chew in my mouth. "Hey, V, do you ever...do you ever think that maybe vampires exist? Like, for real?"

After chugging down Mountain Dew to make the sugary mass make its way down my esophagus, I looked at her in surprise but shrugged my shoulders, trying my best to be nonchalant about this question. "I don't know. I think there is a lot in this world that is kept from us, so maybe it's a possibility, sure."

Wait, wasn't I supposed to keep up the facade that no, vampires didn't exist? Crap. "I just...I don't know, there are some things I notice that I just don't think...can be human, you know?" I raised an eyebrow and put down the next cupcake I was planning to eat, staring at her curiously. "What do you mean? What've you noticed?"

Sara looked uncomfortable at this point, staring at the black and white images of Count Dracula creeping his way over to Mina Harker's sleeping form. "The...The Cullens...I mean, they just seem to never eat, and they're never in school when it's sunny...plus, they're all adopted and come from different families but they all share the same eyecolor? I'm sure there's another explanation for all of that but...I don't know, vampire just fits, somehow. Or maybe they all have that disease, where you think you're a vampire." It was a good thing I'd decided not to eat my second cupcake, I'd definitely be blue by now.

"That's creepy, seriously creepy Sara. Maybe Mr. and Mrs. Cullen take in the kids that think they're vampires as like a recovery program, you know? I think maybe you and I are too into vampires." I quickly tried to steer away from the serious tone in her voice but it just wouldn't leave. The look in her eyes was livid now, and Sara did not want me to change the subject yet, that much was clear.

"Yeah, that might be right, but think about it, V. I mean, come on, you're Romanian, you've been in the country where it all started, where the superstition is strongest. You've got to have some part of you that believes in the bloodsuckers." I raised an eyebrow at her word choice and how quickly she'd pointed out that I was Romanian, so that I had to believe in vampires. "So, if my ancestors are right in saying that vampires exist, does that mean werewolves exist too?"

Sara nodded seriously, before grabbing a slice of pizza and turning back to the movie, her attitude changing back to that calm, fun-loving Sara I'd first become used to. "Hey, you never know right? I just think we should be careful. I mean, I heard about how harsh Edward Cullen acted towards you. You might be his next meal." I stared at her, speechless, until she turned to me with cheeks bulging full of pizza and her eyebrows wiggling up and down. I burst out laughing and pushed her slightly, but inside my stomach was clenching and knotting.

What the hell was I supposed to do with someone that never existed in Twilight, that is already suspicious about the Cullens?

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**Ah, morning/afternoon/evening to you all! Here it is, Chapter 3. Struggled a bit with this, until I had suddenly had an idea about Sara, so keep an eye out for her, eh? Obviously there is finally more dialog, and hey, Edward Cullen happenings are finally...happening! I'm a bit nervous for V and Edward's first time talking to each other, I want to make sure Edward stays in character always, no matter what, so hopefully I will do that in the next chapter. Also, explanation for this chapter's card goes as follows: The Devil can represent obsessions or addictions, unhealthy bonding to something or someone. Or, it can represent a person who can be aggressive, controlling and persuasive, with power and money behind him. It can also warn a person against their habit of being too restrained, never really enjoying life and being too dispassionate. All of these things are very relative to the content of this Chapter, and it makes my view of Edward (sometimes, not all the time) very obvious, I should think. Once again, thank you for reading, enjoy yourselves, and have a pleasant day! Reviews are lovely too, hint hint.**


	4. Fourth Card: The Fool

That night, after Sara left, I immediately swallowed down 12 milligrams of Melatonin to avoid a fitful sleep full of nightmares. It didn't work. At four in the morning on Saturday, I sat up quickly, gasping and covered in sweat, branches scratching against the window and my blankets wrapped around my bare legs like vines. I closed my eyes, catching my breath and allowing my heart to cease its racing, as the images that had brought me out of my drug-induced slumber flicked through my mind's eye over and over again.

_It was Sara. She was writhing and thrashing on wet dirt, puddles surrounding her, it was dark. I was pressing a coin into her head and sobbing as I rambled in Romanian._

_Suddenly she was still for a minute, she hoarsely spoke a few words I couldn't catch._

_Her lips were moving, yet I heard nothing. Pale arms wrapped around my waist and I was lifted away as I heard screaming, hissing, and gunshots behind me._

_I felt sick, I felt wet and flushed. I felt cool hands brushing wet tendrils of my hair away from my face. I felt cold breath fanning over my face, and a velvet voice murmured a lovely lie in my ear. _**_"It'll be alright, Sonia."_**

"Sonia?" I whispered to the dark of my room. That was my middle name. It meant wisdom, my mother's name. Yeah, she was wise about everything but paying the bills. I rubbed sleep from my eyes and untangled myself, opening the window to my room and enjoying the chill of Washington, the soft lull of the rain falling.

I tugged my already lengthy long-sleeved black rugby sleep shirt down a bit before carefully crawling out the window and onto the tree outside of it, settling in the nestle of thick branches erupting from its trunk and letting the rain soak my hair, my clothes. Dreams like this always put me out of sorts, the ones that skipped, the ones that included someone I knew personally, the ones that were always strangely prophetic.

I waited in the tree until I was soaked and the sun had started to rise, but the sky had only gone from black to a strange illuminated gray. I was going to have to save up for solar lamps, I knew.

I took a hot shower before Charlie even got up and got a head start on breakfast, making eggs and bacon for Charlie while I made the best damn cinnamon oatmeal to go with my own bacon. I was in the middle of pouring orange juice for the both of us when Charlie came down the steps, yawning and scratching his stomach, a sleepy look of surprise at how I was already up and dressed at six in the morning.

"I though Angela wasn't coming until noon?" He asked as he sat down at the table, sipping his coffee and thanking me with a nod for the paper I'd already retrieved from outside for him. "Oh, yeah, I woke up around four and couldn't fall back asleep, so I thought I'd just start the day a little earlier than usual."

Charlie nodded in understanding and immediately started eating after gripping the Sports section of Saturday's paper just right so it wouldn't fall over. I grinned at his appetite and sat down with my own reading material, "The Historian" as I spooned warm oatmeal into my mouth.

Breakfast was quiet, and soon after doing the dishes together Charlie left for work, giving me an awkward one-armed hug and mumbling a 'Have a good time' as he closed the door behind him. Really, what a great father, Charlie Swan. Though it was in his nature to be a quiet observant man, he really did try to break out of his shell for his only daughter. It warmed my heart quite a bit, and I can't really say the same for my own father. He thought money solved everything, that if he wanted love and loyalty from me that I could be bought. Silly, silly notions.

Really, there was even a Romanian proverb I used to throw at him when he'd try to flash his wallet for some sympathy. "Banu-i ochiu' dracului," or "Money is the devil's eye." Pretty much saying money is the root of all evil, which is not totally my belief but money really doesn't matter to me and it seems to always bring out the worst in people.

I was already dressed, a dark green thermal long-sleeved shirt, a Radiohead t-shirt over it, loose light jeans, so I decided I'd clean the house while I jammed out with my...never mind that phrase, I blasted Radiohead which I always thought was an appropriate sound for rainy days, cleaned the house, did some hideous Algebra 2 homework, and as I snacked on some vanilla soy milk and a PB&J sandwich I heard a knock at the door and rushed over to let Angela in, smiling happily at her open and friendly face. She gave me a small hug after I let her in, and I invited her up to my room while I got my socks and shoes on.

When we were in her car a few minutes later, she'd commented on a blank book that was in my room. Puzzled, I asked her, "I left a sketchbook out?"

Angela thought about it but shook her head. "No, it had a cover, no words, but two hands holding an apple. All the pages were blank. I'm sorry I looked at it, I thought it was a new book and I got curious."

I laughed nervously and insisted that she was fine by looking, but my heart skipped a beat. So Twilight had been erased, huh? It made sense, I was currently completely destroying the original story. Quickly I came up with a lie. "Ah, it's just a design I came up with and decided to put on a sketchbook, no biggie." Yeah, no biggie. Thank heavens everything had been erased, or I'd have had some major ground to cover with Angela.

A little over eighty dollars later, I was home, throwing dinner together before disappearing all day Sunday in my room, painting my heart out, readying my sanity for Monday. It was the big day, if I remembered correctly, and I didn't want to go screwing it up by freaking out. So far I'd dealt with Edward's chiseled cheekbones and lovely hair pretty well, how was I going to handle that velvety tone and that crooked grin? Oooh, my insides melted at the thought that I'd actually be able to witness the famous crooked grin. Staring at my self-portrait, how vain of me I know, I decided I'd put off sleep long enough and collapsed into bed, no weird dreams to wake me earlier than planned.

* * *

I woke up five minutes before my cell phone's alarm went off, but because I decided to mosey around while I made breakfast I barely had five minutes to shower. I threw on a white lacy camisole top, a cardigan sweater that matched my eyes with sea foam green buttons and a park of charcoal gray skinny jeans, threw my hair up in a bun and slipped into black flats before grabbing my bag, wishing Charlie a good day at work on my way out. I had skipped breakfast, and while my stomach growled angrily I slowly but surely made my way to Forks High thanks to Big Red. While steering I noticed that I still had paint on my fingers, cerulean blue, emerald green, Prussian blue, peach and pink and Alazarin crimson. I was quite used to this happening but I wondered if I'd be so well received by Edward now, dirty fingers were so very unbecoming!

I laughed until I had trouble breathing as I parked, and as I left the truck I was greeted by people I didn't recognize and some I did. I avoided the eager Mike Newton and made a beeline for Sara, who was grinning at my quickened pace and the paint on my fingers.

"Power walkin' it today, V?" She asked with a wry smile, wearing a Bob Marley shirt this time and sporting a stud in her left nostril.

"You bet, I'm too sleepy to deal with chit-chat this morning." I smiled at her light laughter and we took our seats beside each other, readying for a pop quiz while Mike tried to catch my attention. Since we couldn't speak during the quiz, he passed me a note to alert me to the fact that it was snowing. Sure enough, as I turned my head to stare out the window, there were white flakes slowly falling to the ground, not yet collecting on the wet pavement. I made a face that made Mike smile before finishing the quiz and the class, telling Sara I'd see her in Painting as I walked with Mike to Algebra 2, which thrilled and terrified Jessica at the same time.

Later during the class I was 'scolded' for not giving her enough time to look presentable, which led me to assure her that she was beautiful with or without another layer of lipgloss. Pleased at my reassurance she cared enough to ask me about my weekend and in turn I asked her about hers, and trust me, that girl spares no detail. My ears were practically sliding off by the time class was over, and European History was nothing but reading and taking notes, nothing at all difficult, but I was beyond ecstatic about being able to finally eat. I went with the BLT and soy milk again, eating my pickle first while Jessica took over leading the table into conversations about who knows what. I think we were on the worst episode of Sweet Sixteen when Jessica exclaimed to the table that Edward was back.

I purposely waited until everyone else had stopped blatantly staring at the five vampires to look over my shoulder at Edward. Alice was smiling at me briefly before laughing with the rest of her family, and that's what must've caused Edward to suddenly look over at me, and I could easily tell he had fed, and fed well. His eyebrows rose up again and immediately I started singing an Incubus song in my head, his expression growing increasingly curious as I kept eye contact with him. Jessica nudged me and Angela giggled softly as they noticed the staring competition, which I immediately ended once I noticed that others were noticing. I turned around and kept my mouth busy with chewing while Jessica kept reporting that Edward Cullen was still staring at me. Fantastic.

Angela and I walked together while Mike trailed behind with Jessica, and Angela was asking me to help come up with an article for the school paper. I commented about the economic recession and suggested that she could write an article about saving money and tips on how to do it. Which of course led to me promising to help her with the article, and while there were a few minutes of free time left before class started, I knelt by her desk and started to write bullets for the article, drawing little cartoons of dollar signs and smiling Earths before retreating to my seat, working on a drawing of Amelie Poulain from the popular French film Amelie, before I was interrupted by an unfamiliar voice that I was hoping to become familiar with.

"Hello," said that quiet, smooth voice. The voice that made women _swoon_. "My name is Edward Cullen, I didn't have a chance to introduce myself last week. You must be Viorica Swan."

As tempted as I was to say that that was bullshit, he did indeed have a chance to introduce himself, I bit my tongue and looked up from my sketch, my sarcastic quip dying a quick death in my throat as my eyes met his. Damn, but did that color look beautiful. It wasn't an easy color to recreate, that's for sure. Golden butterscotch, that's how Stephenie Meyer had described it as. She was right on the money with that one. His hair was perfect and dripping, and he had a careful yet friendly expression on his face. I could really stare at this face all day. That jaw, those cheekbones. What a man, what a man, what a man. What a mighty good ma--vampire?

My eyebrows shot up and hid beneath my ebony bangs at his perfect pronunciation of my name. Well, what else was I expecting from Mr. Perfect, right? "That's really impressive. Most really stumble over my first name, so if you tire of pronouncing it just right, you can call me V if you wish."

He tilted his head a fraction and his eyes were still careful as he continued to smile at me. "V? You enjoy having a Roman Numeral as your nickname?" Oh ho ho, aren't you the brightest crayon in the box.

I laughed quietly and shook my head. "I don't mind so much, but if you're going to be picky, you can call me Sonia. It's my middle name." I smiled warmly at him as he seemed to quickly process this new little nugget of information about me, and before he could speak again Mr. Banner interrupted to tell us about a lab, the infamous lab about different phases of mitosis that onions had. Biology labs normally don't shout romance to me, but when you have Edward Cullen interested and sitting beside you, that definitely changes.

"Ladies first, Sonia?" I nodded compliantly and sat up before bending over to look into the microscope at the first slide of cells, my painted fingers twisting the knobs until I got a good enough view. "Prophase." I announced quietly, already sliding the microscope to Edward before he could even ask to look. I waited patiently after already writing down the result I knew to be right and didn't have to wait long for Edward to start talking.

"Sonia means wisdom, but what does your first name mean?" He handed me the slide, his fingertips brushing mine, but instead of gasping or jerking away I paused because I noticed he was studying the paint covering my fingers with a soft smile on his face. "Ah, Viorica means 'bluebell', a pretty common flower found in Europe, and the continental U.S." I answered him as I studied the next slide.

I looked up at him again and found him studying my eyes intensely. He smiled at me again. "It's perfect, your name. It describes your eye color adequately." Damn, there I went, cheeks a-flushin'. "Anaphase. Thank you for noticing. No one seems to piece that together." I grinned appreciatively and this time he took my answer without question, writing it down in that perfect calligraphy of his.

"Do you wear contacts?" And no, I didn't ask that question, he did! So I shot it right back at him. "Do you?" I knew he was asking only to tease me, since my eye color was incredibly rare but he didn't take my rebuttal too kindly, going quiet and checking the next slide before letting me finish up. "It's the lights that change my eye color." He explained quickly to me as Mr. Banner shuffled on over to our table to look at our answers.

He actually gave me the benefit of the doubt instead of questioning if I had done it before, so I was very happy about not having to lie about whitefish blastula labs. He commented on a job well done and left Edward and I to continue a now slightly awkward conversation. I was still trying to keep song lyrics rolling in my mind while focusing on Edward's questions at the same time, and it was trickier than expected.

"It's too bad about the snow, isn't it?" Edward was still studying me with that incredible intensity as I answered honestly, "I'm not complaining." I tucked a few stray bangs behind my ears and leaned my head against my hand, elbow on the black desk. "You don't like the cold." Way to be unassuming, Edward Cullen. I shook my head. "Anything that makes it increasingly difficult for me to stay warm doesn't really suit me, no."

"Forks must be a difficult place for you to live," Edward musing was a good look for him, I must admit.

"Even if it is, I see no use in complaining." Edward looked surprised and fascinated at my reply. It was different than Bella's. And I was still getting a good reaction. Hip hip!

"Why is that?" He queried softly, genuinely curious. Well this was great news, it meant he still couldn't read my mind, not completely anyway. "Well, I chose to came here, I knew what the weather would be like. I could have easily avoided coming here. It's " Lie, I could've easily not made a wish about taking Bella Swan's place in a popular book series...

"Why did you choose to come here, then?" I bit my lip and took my time answering. "It's a bit complicated." He pressed me further, dying to know why I chose my father over my mother. "I think I can keep up."

"My mother remarried last fall." I answered evenly. "You dislike him," he assumed immediately. "Not at all, Phil is great for my mother. But, she seemed pretty torn about traveling with him and staying behind in Chicago for my sake. So, I made the decision for her and moved here, to live with Charlie."

"You regret your decision?" He was struggling to figure out how I felt about the situation. "Not at all. Sure I miss my mother, but I missed having a father, too." Edward nodded kindly. "But are you happy about your decision?" If I were speaking honestly, of course I'd say I was mighty pleased about being in Forks, Washington, especially right now, but I had to be at least a little sad about it. "Only time will tell. Charlie's a great father, it's just...uncomfortable, I suppose."

Edward studied me closely before his eyes flashed and he become a bit more sure of himself. "You keep to yourself, so much that I'm willing to bet it's exhausting, and you refuse to let anyone be the wiser." I winced slightly at his observation. Maybe my acting was poorer than I'd thought. "Am I wrong?" He asked. I couldn't hear him breathe. Vampires.

I gave no answer and turned back in my chair to face the front of the classroom. "I didn't think so." I looked at him sharply to see that smug look on his face that had dripped into his tone. "That's a good look for you." I commented in an annoyed tone, my eyes narrowing slightly. Immediately the smug expression disappeared and he looked appropriately apologetic. "Have I offended you?" I shook my head again, sighing softly as my eyes relaxed and I licked my dry lips. "No, I'm just annoyed at my inability to keep things from people. It seems I'm an open book." "On the contrary, I find you very difficult to read." I raised an eyebrow at that and stumbled for my reply. "You must read people very well, then." Bam, there was the flash of perfect white teeth in that self-assured grin of his. "Usually."

That was the final comment to be uttered that day by Edward Cullen, and I was just fine with focusing on class and "Burn" by The Cure. I wrote a reminder on my notebook to watch The Crow when I got home, and like before, Edward was the first to leave once the bell rang. Mike escorted me out and we waited for Angela before I dashed off to Painting to finish my painting. I wasn't even halfway when the bell rang, and Sara presented me her charcoal drawing of the Three Vampire Brides in a manila envelope before she left in a rush to get home.

I stayed in the art room for awhile to continue working on my painting, and it was twenty minutes after three in the afternoon that I left with the teacher and made my way home, to ask Charlie about the Cullens at dinner. I knew how it'd go down, but I wanted an excuse to keep the father-daughter bonding thing going, even if it meant talking about the new vampire family from Alaska.

As sure as the sun sets, Charlie spoke to me about Dr. Carlisle Cullen and his adopted family, as well as his dislike about the gossip the town was spreading. After eating tacos and showering, I lay in bed, mulling over the day's events and realizing that I'd missed Edward blocking the truck as I would try to back out. Praying to the silence filling my room that this wouldn't disrupt future events I fell asleep easily, a smile present on my lips the whole night.

* * *

**Ahh, here we are again! The chapter I thought would be incredibly difficult actually flowed pretty well, I hope I did not disappoint any of you with my portrayal of Edward. I used some of his words from Meyer's Twilight verbatim, and then improvised so he would respond well enough to V's comments. Please, review and tell me if I did right by you all! The card for this chapter is called The Fool. I found this card fitting for my protagonist, Viorica, because The Fool is also representative of a protagonist in the story of Life. He is unassuming, searching for experience and in his adventures will be forever unconcerned when he is on the precipice of any significant event. He is seen with a flower in his hand, to represent his appreciation for beauty, a dog at his heels to represent either his desires or the 'real world', and his belongings on his back, no other baggage. He represents the mystical cleverness bereft of reason within us, the childlike ability to tune into the inner workings of the world. The sun shining behind him represents the divine nature of the Fool's wisdom and exuberance.**

**So perhaps we are all Fools in the beginning? :D Thank you for reading and have a wonderful day.**

**+I would also like to point out the obvious, and state that I in no way shape or form have any ownership on anything to deal with Meyer's Twilight series, I only claim Viorica as my own.  
**


	5. Fifth Card: Six of Swords, The Boatman

The snow should've tipped me off as to what events were supposed to occur that Tuesday. But instead I was focused on making it to school on time, munching on a huge slice of pineapple, my large headphones on blasting the score to The Crow as I took my time getting to school. Regardless of the fact that thanks to Charlie the tires on Big Red could handle slush and snow, I wasn't chancing it, which led to me parking closer to the school's entrance instead of my usual spot near the gym. I finished the last of my morning fruit as I hopped out of the truck, humming along to the ninth track on the soundtrack.

I wasn't paying attention, I didn't hear anyone, too immersed in my loud music as the strings made their appearance in the song. I realized I'd forgotten to lock my door and paused to lean against the rear of the truck, fumbling in my coat pockets for the keys. Grumbling, I tried to untangle the wires of my headphones and the keys, and they fell to the ground, landing in dirty slush. Making a face I knelt down without my knees touching the wet pavements and searched for the now cold metal.

I didn't hear the screeching brakes, the tires squealing against the pavement, the gasps and screams of people trying to warn me, the beeping of the dark blue van's horn. Before I knew it, the ground beneath me disappeared and cold arms formed a vice grip around waist, an equally cold, hard body braced against mine as the van bumped into the corner of my truck.

My head hit the pavement with a thud, and quickly the body guarding my own switch positions, my entire body curling as the person behind me hot out two white hands to prevent the van from crushing us both. My eyes widened as the metal dented, my eyes peering up from beneath Edward's chest. I was breathing heavily, my eyes darting around and my body shaking. My head hurt like a bitch but I was more concerned with how I'd gotten into this situation in the first place. How could I have forgotten this day? The third chapter in the book? And yet again, things were different yet set in the same circumstance.

Edward's body leaned back and I just let my body rest against his, though he was incredibly stiff, which led me to wonder if I was bleeding anywhere. "Sonia, are you all right?" Through his quiet panic he was still unbelievably sexy when he talked.

I kept my eyes closed and tried to stop my body from shaking. "Yes," was all about I could manage, and I was annoyed that it'd come out as more of a whimper than a reassuring answer. Immediately Edward stood up, pulling my unstable body with him and carefully turning me around so he could further inspect me. "You've hit your pretty hard, stay still for now."

I opened my eyes and sighed as I realized how close of a view I had of that perfect face. His eyes were now pure gold, and I couldn't speak for a moment. I swallowed hard and reached up to feel where my head had hit the ground, relieved to feel no blood but there was definitely going to be a lump.

Lovely. I must've said that last part out loud because Edward's amused voice claimed my attention once again. "Yes, just as I thought." A crowd of people started to rush towards me, and I heard the wail of a ambulance approach the parking lot. I had glanced at my surroundings, worried for the person driving the van, and when I looked back at where Edward should have been standing, he was gone. Part vampire, part freaking cheetah.

My acid reflux started acting up on the way to the hospital, and I told any nurse who would listen that I had a severe phobia of hospitals. Charlie was there, waiting for me and holding my hand as we waited for the arrival of the Doctor McDreamy, aka Carlisle. My hands were a little scratched up so the nurse wrapped them in gauze after scrubbing out the dirt and tiny rocks, which wasn't fun at all, I'll tell you that right now.

By the time the glowing vampire doctor arrived, I had a splitting headache and was very, very nauseous. Hospitals mixed with an approaching migraine did not mesh well. Suddenly someone was trying to reach Charlie through his radio and with an apologetic look he left me, squeezing my hand comfortingly before leaving the emergency room. Unfortunately, that left me to deal with Tyler Crowley, who though he looked worse off than I did, had no problem becoming Chatty Cathy while the nurse cleaned up his scrapes on his face.

He kept apologizing and going over what had happened though I said absolutely nothing, enjoying the icepack over my head, my arms crossed over my chest much like Bela Lugosi resting in his coffin. I briefly thought about the state of my headphones, before fighting to work through my headache and remember what happened next.

Ah, this accident was supposed to prompt me to notice what was different about Edward Cullen. I sighed softly, not really in the mood to put up an act but I was too afraid of the ripples my actions would cause if I didn't do most of what Bella had in Twilight.

I felt his presence before I heard his voice. That smooth, musical tone that caused a shiver to run down my spine, and that primal instinct to run to surge inside of me. Two very conflicting emotions, wanting to run and wanting to stay.

"Is she sleeping?" It was harder than I'd thought to open my eyes, my eyelashes fluttering as I fought to stay awake.

"Hello," I murmured, a brief smile on my face before I reached a hand up to cover my yawn politely. "How is your head?" He asked me, his eyes studying me intently like before, studying the position I kept my hands in, then my hands themselves. "I'll have to request some Vicodin from your father, a migraine approaches," I muttered, ignoring his chuckle at my response. Speaking of the devil, Dr. Carlisle stepped within my drab curtained haven, helping me sit up to look at my eyes and my head.

"So Miss Swan, how are you feeling? Your X-Rays looked good, but you have bruised your skull a bit." I hissed slightly as his cold fingers prodded at the lump on the side of my head. "Yes, the bruising thing rings a bell. I'm actually beginning to get a migraine."

This was clearly obvious by how soft my voice was, migraines always weakened me something terrible.

"I'll prescribe you some Vicodin then, but only for the migraine. If your head continues to hurt after today, just take ibuprofen. Also, come back if you feel dizzy or have any trouble with your eyesight, alright?" I nodded a few times and murmured a quiet thank you to the good doctor

. "Do you have a ride home, Miss Swan?" My eyes flew open at that and I cringed at the bright lights of the hospital. "Actually Char-I mean, my father just got a call into work, it sounded urgent. Is there a bus stop around near the hospital?" Edward stepped forward then, glancing at Carlisle before looking at me with a polite smile. "I will take you home." Carlisle nodded approvingly, looking at me with kind eyes to match a kind smile. His compassion for humans was a bit awe-inspiring, if humans held that much compassion for each other I doubt we'd have as nasty a rep as we did.

"That's a great idea, should you show any of the symptoms I described before I would rather you have someone with you to help you." Carlisle could tell by the look on my face that I would've tried to protest being watched over but really, I was too tuckered out to really fight it. Plus, then I could just have that angsty 'You were across the lot, how did you get to me so fast' discussion while I was in the car with Edward. I nodded and waved Edward off as he tried to help me up, I didn't want to tempt him if I was going to be stuck in a car with him for fifteen minutes or so. I seriously do have a death wish, damn. The glowing Carlisle gave me a prescription slip and I shuffled ahead of Edward as Carlisle laid a hand on his shoulder and murmured something too low for me to hear. It was probably a pep talk to assure Edward he could deal with me without killing me or something. I rolled my eyes as I walked towards an exit that didn't involve me dealing with most of the student body in the waiting room. In reality, Edward really was a glutton for punishment. Masochistic lion, indeed.

"You move quickly for someone with a head injury." His voice was right beside me, and though I knew he was capable of being such a stealthy creature I still jumped slightly. I gripped my pounding head that protested at the quick movement and sighed. "You're awfully sneaky, you're going to give someone's grandmother a heart attack if you sneak in a hospital," I quietly scolded him, glancing over at him to see a torn expression on his face, as if he were both smug and bothered by my observation. Angsty vampire. Time for some more angst. I took a deep breath as Edward politely held the exit door open for me and we paused just in front of his car, that shiny Volvo looking mighty intimidating.

"You...you saved my life, and I'm thankful for it. But..." I wanted to avoid looking at his face, I didn't want to make eye contact while I spoke because I had no doubt in my mind that it would be harder to pull this off if I did. "But?" He was apprehensive about what my pause was leading to, and I did not blame him one bit. "But...I don't understand how you got to me in time."

The response I got was, to say the least, bewildering. "It isn't a hard concept to grasp," He snapped at me coldly, his eyes hard when I chanced another glance at them.

I bit the inside of my cheek as I tried not to let this offend me. I knew why he was being edgy, but the words held bite to them and the reason behind it didn't dull the resulting sting.

"I was right beside you, Sonia. Obviously your head injury has left you a bit confused." His eyes were now challenging, daring me to question him. Like what he said went, and I was a fool to argue.

I shook my head, my lips tightening disapprovingly at his lie. This angered him, though he had no right to be pissed at me. It was because I was refusing to comply with what he thought was a perfect excuse. "Fine then, what do you _think_ happened?" His voice was so low and threatening I shrank back a bit but clenched my fists, glaring hard at him in defiance. "All I know is that you were across the parking lot, and then you weren't. I would have been very aware of you had you been next to me. You stopped the van with your bare hands, you left dents in the metal!"

"You really think I stopped the van with my bare hands?" He was a good actor. If I weren't so aware of him and what he was, I would have been halfway fooled. Maybe. I nodded shortly and both our jaws had tightened it seemed. "Nobody will believe that, you know." He was really ladling out that sarcasm now, but it only made me more determined.

"I was not planning on telling anyone. I just want to know why I'm going to be lying for you." He seemed surprised for a moment but his face quickly hardened once again. "Can't you just thank me and get over it?" I narrowed my eyes at him and crossed my arms. "I've already thanked you."

"But you're not going to let it go, are you?" We stared each other down as I gave him the answer he expected. "No."

"In that case, I hope you enjoy disappointment." I dropped my arms but kept my eyes on his, both of us unwavering. I remained cold, but I didn't pose a question like Bella did in the book. "You shouldn't have bothered." I muttered and I didn't stick around for his reply. I promptly ignored my head and headed right back into the hospital, turning around the corner of the hallway sharply only to bump right into Charlie.

"Dad! I thought you got called in?" He shook his head and inspected my own worriedly. "I told them it could wait until I got my daughter home." I smiled and almost teared up at how touching it was that he'd put off something as important as his job for me. "Thanks, Dad." I murmured and we walked out the same exit doors I'd come through just seconds ago, and it was not a surprise to see that Edward's car had disappeared.

Charlie hadn't called my mother but encouraged me to do so because she'd be furious if she found out later on that neither of us hadn't called her immediately. We ordered Chinese and watched Field of Dreams together, both of us choked up at the end like babies and then nervously laughing it off at the end. I wished him a goodnight, and swallowed two Vicodin before stripping off my hooded jacket and jeans and crashing on the bed.

That was the second night I dreamt of Edward Cullen, and it wasn't nearly as unpleasant, but it still awoke me from my drug-induced sleep and creeped me out enough to lock my window. I didn't appreciate being watched while I slept.

* * *

As I expected, now that my memory had been refreshed, Edward ignored me for the next month of March, while everyone else found themselves incapable of bringing up my brush with death. I avoided Tyler's persistence by alternating tables and always busying myself with either Angela or Sara. I recounted my 'tragedy' a few times before people got the hint that I wasn't interested in reliving that snowy Monday, and every time I had to answer someone's question on how I was saved, I would simply it was a miracle in the form of Edward Cullen, and I was grateful to his heroic effort.

Sara was the only one that pressed me about it, and it worried me. Did she really believe that he and his family were vampires? I felt responsible, somehow. Because I didn't belong in this world, as punishment there was another brought to this world to make things unpredictable for me. The theory filled me with unease and I usually tried to change the subject to something else whenever Sara brought up her suspicions but it wasn't helping any.

The days flew by, and I grew closer to Angela and more suspicious of Sara. I helped Eric with an English assignment in exchange for him helping me with Algebra 2, I helped Tyler look for a better car, and desperately threw Mike every hint in the book that I did not want to date him and and that Jessica was interested. I also managed to piss off that Lauren girl one day, simply because I said happy birthday to her when I noticed she had a balloon attached to her wrist. Heavens forbid I wish a girl a happy birthday, sheesh.

Also, thanks to Edward being an ass and ignoring me, Mike Newton was becoming incredibly sure of himself. One week I had a cold and he seemed to bug out every time I coughed or sneezed, which I thought was quite the Edwardian reaction, actually. Now it was yet another rainy day, my cold had finally disappeared, and I was currently staring at a small pot of garlic flowers that Sara had given me with a bemused expression on my face. I murmured a 'wow' at how far she was going to 'protect' me when I noticed someone sitting on my desk, clearly invading my personal pace.

"So, Jessica asked me to the spring dance." I looked up at Mike and grinned enthusiastically. Jessica had asked me the other day on the best way to approach Mike so to my chagrin we practiced it on the phone for a half hour before she had enough confidence to go through with it. Though I wasn't really as attached to Jessica as I was to Angela, I was proud she'd worked up the courage. It took a lot, to approach someone you had feelings for. Jessica was ahead of Edward in that area, and that made me chuckle.

"That's great, Mike! You two will have so much fun, it's a good match." I sounded like I'd swallowed the sun along with a few dozen unicorns and was experiencing the ultimate happy sugar rush. I fought back a wince as Mike's hopeful face dropped and his fingers started to fidget. "Well...I told her I had to think about it." Immediately I was at angry at him for Jessica, and very thoroughly annoyed. It was true what they said about men not getting even the most obvious of hints.

"Why would you do that?" My look was definitely disapproving but at least he hadn't said no, that was a relief. If he'd said no, I would have had to do some major damage control. "I was wondering if...well, if you were planning to ask me. You know, because, I would rather go with you..." I wasn't too sure of the expression on my face, but whatever it was made Mike turn into a tomato. I saw movement in the corner of my eye, and I realized Edward was listening. Internally I was singing "Zombie" by The Cranberries and grinning like a fool. You sly vampire you, you're scared I actually wanted to go with Newton, huh? I noticed his body go tense and stopped thinking altogether. Crap, did he hear me somehow?

"Listen, Mike, I really think you should go with Jessica. You see, I'm not going to be here that weekend. I'm headed for Seattle early Saturday morning." I gave him a friendly smile though I was a little pissed because I knew he wouldn't let it go so easily. Men. "Can't you go some other weekend?" His tone was a cross between demanding and begging. "Nope, no can do, I've been looking forward to this trip since I moved here. So don't keep Jess waiting, okay? Trust me, you'll have a fantastic time together. And then you can tell me all about it afterwards." He lit up a bit at the fact that I'd given him an invitation to unleash a rambling hell upon my ears but I didn't mind, I'm sure it would leave me with something to talk to Jessica about.

With an almost happy nod, though I'd just rejected him, he mumbled about my being right and left me to the eavesdropping vampire's silence and my notebook covered with doodles. Boy, no wonder no one asked to borrow my notes, though my notes are always pretty good. I rubbed my neck with one hand and starting singing "There Is A Light That Never Goes Out" by The Smiths, humming softly under my breath as I took notes. That was when I noticed that no longer was Edward ignoring me, but staring directly at me. I stopped humming and looked over at him with eyebrows raised, only to see him fighting back a smile, which was slightly creepy when his eyes were crow black at the same time, and focused on me. I narrowed my eyes a bit and glanced over at Mr. Banner. Hurry, interrupt before I lose the staring competition! "Mr. Cullen?" Old Faithful, that Mr. Banner.

"The Krebs Cycle," the staring vampire spoke, turning his head away slowly with an air of reluctance, and I did the same, taking a deep breath and clearing my throat. Everything with Edward is so...intense, how on Earth did Bella handle it? Well, not so well, I guess, if she fell in love with Jacob too. But then when Jacob was dealing with his shape shifting, I guess that got seriously intense too, and then the triangle began and wow, seriously, Bella must've had trouble eating, sleeping or something because no one handles that...oh wait, that's right, she turned into a zombie when Edward left. The jerk. I turned to look at said jerk and blushed when I realized he had went back to staring at me again, causing me to quickly look back down at my notes, my slightly shaking hand scribbling vines along my notes.

The class passed slower than usual, I must've straightened my cream-colored The Smiths t-shirt underneath my heather gray cardigan a hundred times, I couldn't stay still. I couldn't remember if this was the day he'd talk to me or not, so my nerves were strung out. When the bell rang I stood up to stretch my legs before sitting back down to gather my books, humming the same Smiths song from earlier as I tried to take my mind off of the immortal seventeen-year-old still seated beside me.

"Sonia?" It was mind-boggling, that his voice had the ability to still my body and mind completely. I paused mid-hum and bit my bottom lip briefly before answering him with a question. "Oh, are you ending your vow of silence?" I arched a brow at him and promptly stood up to leave when he answered with a hidden smile, "No, not really."

"Then pray tell, what do you want, Edward?" My sarcasm was my defense mechanism, but at least it wasn't spiteful sounding or else I think I'd sound like a right bitch. I closed my eyes for just a moment, waiting for him to make up his mind already so I could leave this stifling atmosphere. "I'm sorry. I'm being very rude, I know. But it's better this way, really." He sounded sincere, and had the look to match his tone. He was good at that. I sighed and bit my lip again before speaking hesitantly. "So, what you're saying is that we're better off not being friends?" Ooh, maybe I shouldn't have used better off, was that what he was supposed to say? His serious expression broke into a look of surprise before he reigned it in and spoke in that serious, I'm-right tone. "Trust me, it's the best thing." For who, was what I wanted to ask, but I knew the answer.

"I was right then. You shouldn't have bothered." I grit my teeth and grabbed my things, ready to evacuate. "Excuse me, what shouldn't I have bothered with, exactly?" His tone was icy, so I gathered he'd caught my meaning. I met his dark glare and gave it back to him tenfold. "You shouldn't have bothered with saving my life." My tone was dark, even and my exit was more graceful than I'd expected, save for the fact that I'd left my bag with my ratty headphones, book of letters from Van Gogh to his brother, keys and cellphone below my desk.

I stomped with my books all the way to art class, infuriated with myself that I'd left the bag there so carelessly. Sara called me the dragon lady while the art teacher Ms. Thistle encouraged my slapping the huge canvas with my hands covered in black paint. I threw in streaks of gold and added dark green leaves. Sara busied herself with trying to get me to wear a cross necklace in between working on a bust of Beethoven with headphones, which she was going to properly title "Irony". We both laughed ourselves silly at that one until the bell rang and I made my way to Big Red, only to spot Eric standing there, holding my bag.

I smiled with delight and relief that somehow Eric had managed to grab my bag for me and thanked him over and over again to avoid what I figured he'd come to my truck to do. Sure enough, "Hey V, I was just wondering if you wanted to go to the spring dance with me?" He looked more hopeful than Mike had, which led me to believe that he thought returning my bag to me would soften me up or something. Think again. "Oh, sorry, no I can't Eric, I'm leaving for Seattle bright and early Saturday morning. But it was nice of you to ask me, even though it's a Sadie Hawkins Dance, right?" Eric mumbled an apology and nodded in embarrassment, shuffling off without another word. Yikes, I'd been nice about it, I guess my delivery was off. I sighed and shoved my bag in the passenger seat, and peeled out of the parking lot as fast as Big Red could afford to go, just seconds before Edward would've tried to block me so Tyler could ask me to the same freaking dance.

Charlie was asleep at the kitchen table, dozens of papers around his head and arms. I looked over his shoulder to see that they were reports, not bills like I'd originally thought and panicked about. This time, as I read the reports because my curious nature was still alive and kicking, I saw pictures peeking, and carefully lifted the papers covering them to take a quick look before I'd wake up Charlie to see if he was up for lasagna tonight. I took a quick look and backed away with a look of revulsion clear on my face, my hand on my heart as my acid reflux returned with a vengeance.

The pictures were of burnt, maimed body parts, almost reduced to ashes but not quite there yet. The only question I dared to entertain in my mind was whether or not those remains were human...or _vampire_?

* * *

**Ah, we meet again. Longest chapter yet, and the trickiest so far. The plot finally begins to thicken! I hope reviews increase now that things might actually get interesting. Or perhaps my writing is poor and no one is bothering to at least alert me to the horror I've unleashed. Moving on, this chapter I had a bit of difficulty naming, but decided to go with Six of Swords and since I am very tired I am going to copy/paste this from wikipedia. **

**The Boatman. A dangerous journey. Readers do not always agree on the alignment of this card. It can indicate a doomed endeavor, or conversely, moving out of troubled waters. It also indicates responsibility for others.**

**There you have it. Perhaps this is enough of a clue of what lies ahead! Please, review!  
**


	6. Sixth Card: The Wheel of Fortune

After I woke Charlie up and helped him up to bed, I looked through his files, barely touching them but just committing to memory everything that was highlighted. There'd been two fires within the week, with ashes of remains left behind that had no way of being identified. No trace of blood, no fingerprints. I didn't bother sleeping that night. I instead stayed up, pacing my bedroom, sketching eyes in my sketchbook, meditating, and finally, I gave in and pulled out my tarot deck, shuffling while humming to myself softly and arranging a Star spread carefully.

The first point of the star was what I could see, and the card turned out to be The Hermit. I was soon to overcome an obstacle, and would have to overcome my isolation. But this didn't make sense to me, I hadn't retreated into myself like The Hermit suggested.

The second point was to represent what I could not see, and I glared at The Lovers card that stared up at me mockingly. It represented raw desire, that a dependence would be formed between two people through choice, but not fate. I didn't want to dwell on the meaning and looked at the next card, what could be changed.

"The Hanged Man?" I murmured aloud, staring at the card of The Traitor curiously. This suggested that an initiation into a mystery would occur and I would gain a different perspective, see through different eyes and no longer conform to a certain point of view. Anxious, I turned to the last two cards, both of which didn't thrill me. The Moon was what I couldn't change, meaning I'd be going through a difficult emotional time whether I liked it or not, and The Magician indicated a transformation of some kind, though it wasn't clear to me what, and it was to be expected.

Now, when The Hermit and The Moon are in the same spread it cross-sums and represents being on the precipice of a threshold of both light and dark. Monsters would be revealed, as would treasures through a chain of events that were already predestined, and would lead to self-discovery. I groaned at the suppose divinatory signs I was receiving from the cards and when to collect them when I realized a card had slipped out. The Wheel of Fortune, representing a turning point in life, sudden events that would occur because it was fated to occur in the first place. Aggravated at the card's appearance I kicked the cards under my bed and resumed pacing for a bit, mulling over how my intuition was responding to the cards 'Fate' had drawn for me through my hand.

By the time I'd actually felt tired, it was five in the morning and Charlie was bustling about downstairs already. I took a long hot shower to wake up, thinking about the cards over and over again in my head. While I fixed my bangs I noticed that I now shared a familiar trait with the vampires, those lovely circles under their eyes. "Well, that's what you get for staying up," I muttered to myself as I dressed in a gray t-shirt with a classic print of the White Rabbit on the front of it, threw on a black vest, a long white cardigan and black jeans before heading downstairs, the Wheel of Fortune card tucked into my back pocket. Charlie gave me worried looks all morning as we ate breakfast in silence, and I had a headache by the time I'd arrived at Forks High, making sure to park as far away from Edward's special silver Volvo as possible.

I didn't feel like dealing with the dazzling vampire today, so I was sure to tuck my keys into my jeans pocket before leaving the truck, but fate intervened, and my bag split open instead. I mumbled a quick , "No!" as I watched my books tumble towards the conveniently placed deep puddle of water. Sure enough a white hand shot out and grabbed my books, and I looked up to stare at a smirking Edward Cullen, my books held loosely in his hands. "Thanks a heap, Peter Parker. Those superhuman powers sure must come in handy." I held my hands out for my books as my sarcasm shot out of my mouth without permission, a wry smile tugging at my lips as he handed my saved belongings to me with a look of amusement.

"Yes, it's amazing that I have faster reflexes than you, Sonia." I rolled my eyes and picked up my ripped book bag, staring at it forlornly for a moment before shoving it under my books carefully. "Aren't you supposed to be pretending I don't exist? You're doing a poor job of it, if so," I spoke with a rueful tone, an eyebrow arched and my hips shifting to one side. The books were a bit heavier than I'd expected them to be, so my patience with Edward's decision to continue our doomed friendship was waning. "I'm not pretending you don't exist. Contrary to your absurd beliefs I don't mind your existence." He snickered at my expression and I promptly walked past him to get inside, not wanting to stick around for the annoyingly smug side of Edward Cullen. "Wait, I'm sorry that came out so rudely." I ignored that smooth voice that trickled down my spine like melted butter and kept walking even as I replied, "This may come as a shock to you but quite frankly I don't care whether or not you approve of my existence. Can't you just go back to ignoring me?"

Edward easily kept up with my pace and just wouldn't take a hint. "I have something to ask of you, so please, stop sidetracking me." I sighed and paused, turning towards him and giving him my attention. My eyes met his and my knees knocked together slightly at that lovely golden color of his irises. How on earth was I supposed to keep focused on getting back to my own world when he looked at me with eyes like those, with an expression like that, and talked to me with a voice that was always constantly being compared to velvet?

"Fine, what is it you'd like to ask me?" "I was wondering if the weekend of the spring dance, a week from this Saturday--" I interrupted him, I know, how rude of me. "I'm telling you what I told everyone else. I'm not going to be here that weekend." He was amused, I could tell. Oh. I was struck suddenly by the memory of the fantastic chapter where Edward asks Bella if he can take her to Seattle himself, and despite my calm exterior, inside I was bursting. Was he really interested in me enough to ask me this same question?

I cleared my throat and spoke quickly before he could chide me for rudely interrupting. "Sorry, please, do go on." I wanted to laugh so badly at his expression but I bit my tongue and he continued, those brilliant topaz eyes never leaving mine. "I heard you say that you were leaving for Seattle that Saturday, and I was wondering you wanted a ride?" My eyes widened slightly. He really did want my company. "With you?" He nodded once and I did my best to look flabberghasted. It worked. "Why?"

"Well, I was planning to go to Seattle in the next few weeks, and, to be honest, I don't think your truck can make it." I bit my lip, not sure how to react to this. It was straight from the book, his words verbatim and it didn't make me feel as...amazing, as I thought it would. Sure, my heart was racing and I thought he was a gorgeous gentleman but this wasn't the world I belonged in. Though I had only been myself while I'd been in this Twilight world I didn't think anyone would take notice to them. Edward would only like me because I was in Bella's place, not because of any of my own personal quirks or habits or hobbies. This was, in fact, very disheartening to realize, and my expression became solemn without my permission.

"Yes, I'm not sure if my behemoth truck can make it either, but I have to try. Thank you for your concern." I quickly started walking again, and surprisingly, he followed. From now on, I'd experiment. I wouldn't response completely the way Bella would. Of course it'd be terrible if I lost the interest of Edward but it was for the better. Then maybe Sara would stop bugging me with crucifixes and garlic. "You would risk being stranded in streets unfamiliar to you? That is positively absurd." I rolled my eyes and stopped to look at him again, sighing. "Why are you so concerned with my absurdity, Edward? I had the impression that you didn't want to be my friend." I challenged him with my eyes before continuing my walk, and he followed close beside me. His muted, soothing voice enveloped me like a warm blanket as he spoke.

"It would be better if we weren't friends, but that doesn't mean I don't want us to be friends." It started to rain, and as students moved around us like water around a rock, I kept my eyes on his, ignoring the cold water soaking my hair. "It would be more...prudent for you not to be my friend. But I'm tired of trying to stay away from you, Sonia." Intensity and fervor rang true through his words and my breath left me as my heart stuttered. He should really warn a girl before concentrating such extreme emotion in his words like that. He didn't give me a chance to recover from being momentarily stunned and repeated his question. "Will you go to Seattle with me?" I tilted my head, biting my lip as I delayed the obvious. "Yes," I murmured slowly, my eyes still steady on his. "You really should stay away from me, " he warned again, before adding a quick "I'll see you in class," before he all but ran from me.

* * *

My classes were a blur, thanks to Edward and my headache. No one could hold my attention save for Angela and Sara. Angela gave me some Tylenol to swallow between classes and Sara went so far as to rub my temples to relieve the pressure. Angela followed me back to my locker, both of us discussing her crush on this nice guy Ben and how she should approach asking him to the dance, and Jessica joined us on our way to the cafeteria. My heart immediately sped up and I took a few deep breaths to calm down, and I rubbed my eyes in protest as the fluorescents of the room stung something awful. Jessica sat down while Angela walked with me through the line, my words coming out as mumbles as I suggested that if Ben was interested in Sci-Fi she should rent some movies and propose a movie night to him, then ask him about the dance. I was in the middle of tiredly explaining why this would be better instead of just straight out asking him when she tapped me gently and whispered in my ear as I reached for a bowl of pineapple and a bottle of water, "Edward Cullen is staring at you, to your right."

I paid for my food and glanced over at his usual table, only to find him not there. My eyes then slid over a few tables and noticed that there, all by his lonesome, sat Edward Cullen, with a smile on his face and his topaz eyes on me, and me alone. A shiver ran down my spine at that fervid gaze, though I could tell he was trying his best to remain casual. The guy just could not tone down his impassionate ways, not that I was complaining. He saw that finally he'd captured my attention and winked, winked! The cheeky immortal winked at me! Keeping lyrics inside my head, I turned to Angela for help and she simply grinned at me, shrugging her shoulders and jerking her head towards Edward again.

There he still sat, smiling and beckoning me to join him with one solitary pale finger. "Go sit with him V, what are you waiting for?" That's why I seriously loved Angela, she was just so supportive. So, I allowed my legs to guide me to the table where Edward patiently waited. I stared at him, my eyebrows raised. "You beckoned, sire?" I comically murmured, my head pounding. An appreciative chuckle slipped between his lips before he asked, "Why don't you sit with me today?" I nodded once and slipped into my seat carefully after placing my food down, my arms folded on the table as I waited for an explanation to his sudden invitation. "Well, this is certainly...different." I murmured, my words soft as my headache worsened due to the constant hum of everyone talking around me. "Well...I decided as long as I was going to hell, I might as well do it thoroughly."

I raised an eyebrow at that and tilted my head curiously. "Well, if nothing else, you can brag to The Devil that you were incredibly thorough about getting there. Though, I'm sure you know that I have no idea why you think you're headed for Hades." I sipped my water while he mulled over my words and continued to stare at me, though a curious look passed over his face before he addressed me again. "I think your friends are angry at me for stealing you." I quickly started thinking the lyrics to "Viva La Vida" by Coldplay in my head, and there went that curious look again. Was he getting bits and pieces from my head? I bit my lip and rubbed my temples with a sigh. "At least Angela isn't. She was actually very enthused about my joining you for lunch." He nodded with a slight smile before continuing. "But would she feel differently, I wonder, if I didn't give you back?"

I took a bite of my pineapple and narrowed my eyes at Edward playfully. "Are you planning on keeping me forever at this lunch table? My father wouldn't get much enjoyment from that, he'd starve if I weren't there to cook." I smiled at him so he'd understand that I was joking, and he looked relieved and amused all at once. "So, is the captive allowed to ask the kidnapper his reason for capturing her this afternoon?" I asked wryly, cupping my chin with one hand, my other hand in my lap. So far he wasn't put off by my sarcasm, but maybe he was surprised how well I was taking all of this in stride. "Ah, well, it's like I told you. I'm tired of staying away from you, so I'm giving up."

"Giving up...what, exactly?" I played along, though I had feeling what would come next. I started up another Coldplay song in my head in the meantime. "Giving up trying to be good. I'm just going to do what I want now, and let the chips fall where they may." He was edgy now, that smile was gone. It was time to be serious now, I gathered. My smile slipped away as well, and my eyes narrowed though it made my headache worsen. "Ah. You're doing what you like from now on, is that it? This may shock you, but that is something every teenager in this room does." His smile was back, but his eyes were still hard. Steel painted gold. "You're very perceptive, it's dangerous for me to say as much as I do when I talk to you." I shrugged and shook my head, "Not to worry, I hardly understand what you say anyway."

"I'm counting on that." I ate a few more pieces of pineapple before asking something I needed to clear up for myself. "So...are we now friends, or am I misinterpreting this on a grand scale?" I smiled slightly at him as he mused aloud, "Friends...well, we can try, I suppose. But I'm warning you now, I'm not a good friend for you." I threw him a dubious look that made him grin but I took his warning seriously like he would have probably wanted. "This is a warning you give me often. Waiting for me to get smart and leave?" He nodded solemnly and I sighed. "So as long as I keep up my ignorance, we can be friends?" He nodded again, "That sounds about right." I hummed my understanding and sipped at my water again, my eyes dropping to my pineapple as I tried to focus on a song rather than the struggling, exquisite vampire in front of me. "What are you thinking?" He asked me with a soft curious tone, and I could only sigh. "Good question," I mumbled more to myself than to him.

"You see, I'm just slightly taken aback by this. I have too many thoughts right now to focus on one to share with you." I was being cryptic with him, and I could tell as I glanced up that it was frustrating for him. "That is incredibly frustrating, you know," He complained to me, and I smirked at him. "Oh, is it? And of course, I would have no idea how that felt, of course, how could I when any mutterings that come from you are crystal clear?" My sarcasm was spilling from me with a vengeance. I disliked hypocrisy immensely, even if it came from a stunning male specimen like Edward Cullen. Edward snickered as he looked over my shoulder, interrupting my well-placed annoyance with, "Your boyfriend seems to think I'm being unpleasant to you, he's debating whether or not to come break up our fight."

I laughed quietly, carefully not to upset the ogre busily bashing my brain. "I'm quite positive that I'm currently single, and I'm unconcerned with anyone trying to interrupt this lovely conversation of ours," I said evenly. Suddenly Edward leaned forward, his eyes blazing underneath his thick black lashes. "Please, tell me what you're thinking. One thought." Damn, but did he smell good. I closed my eyes for a moment, trying to reign in my silly emotions and hormones and I breathed out slowly. "I'm thinking...why is Edward pulling me in different directions?" He shrank back slightly, but his eyes didn't.

The bell rang, and neither of us moved, just staring at each other as the cafeteria slowly emptied. I guessed he was waiting to explain myself, so I did him a favor and carried on, doing just that. "You're attempting friendship, but at the same time you're warning me to stay away, that it's dangerous to be around you. And yet, here you are. It's very confusing." There was that burning intensity again, and my heart sped up as he whispered his next words. "You're right. I am dangerous. I'm the bad guy in this, not the superhero." He tried to keep it casual yet again, but this conversation was anything but light. "Well, we're going to be late for class if we don't leave now," I said lightly as I got up, gripping the table for a moment as the room spun thanks to my lovely headache. "I'm not going to class today," He said, watching me carefully as I threw out my trash. "Suit yourself, " I replied as I waved goodbye to him, walking to class. By the time I got to the biology room, my vision was dotting and my ears were ringing. Mike was talking to me but I heard nothing, simply nodded and weakly shuffled my way to my desk, him following close behind.

* * *

I could feel my body shutting down before my knees buckled. Two people caught me, and I heard Mr. Banner's mute voice asking me if I wanted to go to the nurse. I nodded my head and robotically moved one foot in front of the other as Mike and Angela had either one of my arms over their shoulders. I mumbled a request to take the long way outside, needing cold air desperately because damn was I burning up. Mike said nothing as Angela spoke soft words of encouragement. Seriously how sweet can this girl be? My knees buckled again and before Mike or Angela could catch me I fell to the ground, the impact on the wet cement stealing the air from my lungs and making me wheeze. My migraines were always bad, I guess I'd ignored this one for too long. Sometimes I had took a shot, but obviously hadn't had the foresight to bring it with me today. Both Angela and Mike were on either side of me, trying to get through to me but the ringing in my ears and my eyes were unwilling to open as I focused on breathing evenly.

Through the fog I heard his voice, that familiar tranquilizing tone easing the shivers in my body and making me sigh in slight relief. "Sonia?" Mike was trying to get me up before Edward would interrupt his opportunity to get me to the nurse's office himself but Angela, I could hear, scolded him and spoke to Edward quickly, too worried about me to be dazzled by those golden eyes that I could feel glancing from me to her. "She told me she had a headache earlier today, I gave her something for it but I think it got worse, she just fell down in class like she did just now."

"Sonia, can you hear me?" Ahh, that voice. He should record books on tape for living, or get a job as a radio host. I nodded slightly as I felt his presence surround me, his voice right by my ear it seemed. His voice rang with concern and it warmed my heart to hear it. "I'll take her to the nurse's office," He offered, though it was more a demand than a request. I heard Angela agree with this and I heard the skidding of Newton's shoes as Angela dragged him away, his protests slipping away as well as the cold, wet ground as Edward swiftly picked me up bridal style in those hard arms of his. "You're burning up, Sonia." I sighed tiredly and weakly curled into him, my burning forehead seeking his cold skin, but he was making sure that our skin did not touch and I let my head drop back, my teeth chattering as the fever started to break.

"M-migraine..." I managed to whisper to him as we entered the nurse's office finally, Edward stating what was wrong with me and the nurse snapping into action as he laid me down on a cot lined with paper. The nurse covered me with blankets and went to the cupboard to retrieve a shot for me that would have the migraine worsen for three minutes, and then finally disappear. I'd given some to her last week, just in case something like this happened during school. I opened my eyes slightly to find that Edward had retreated to the other side of the room, his eyes seeming to glow in the shadow of the room. He was completely still, and for a moment, I thought this was an entirely different situation, and right now I was prey, not a friend. I felt...hunted.

I winced slightly as the needle pierced my skin, and I was the only one that could hear Edward's hiss. I curled onto my side as I felt the pain increase, striking and unrelenting, tears gathering in the corners of my eyes. I was no cry baby when it came to pain, but migraines were something I could never get used to, never not react to. My breathing was uneven and I tried to regulate it and think of something else as I waited for the pain to finally dull and leave me. Soon enough, the pressure and throbbing was relieved, and I found it easier to breathe. Edward had been respectfully quiet, and now as my body relaxed and I opened my eyes, I saw him beside me, his hand holding a damp handtowel. I thanked him with a soft smile and pressed the pleasantly chilled towel to my face, the back of my neck and the front before he started to speak quietly to me.

"So you get migraines often?" I shrugged, and then decided to cut his curiosity some slack and keep him well-informed. "Only when it's trigger by a certain number of things. Lack of sleep, dehydration, stress. I did not sleep last night, so I should have expected this." I was a bit put-out that I'd been so irresponsible about it. "You scared me for a moment, outside," he admitted after a slight pause, "I thought Newton had drugged you and was planning to drag you into the woods after losing Angela." I snorted at that and smiled at his sudden humiliation of being concerned for a human. Oh, heavens forbid.

"No, that would be you he would try to drug and drag," I said jokingly as I slowly sat up, licking my lips and combing my hands through my hair as I tried to get myself together. "Oh yes, he absolutely loathes me," Edward responded gleefully, his eyes positively sparkling at the idea of Mike trying to kill him. Yes, I suppose that thought was quite comical in itself. "Don't be so broken up about it, " I commented dryly, heaving myself up off the bed and looking around, tugging on my shirt and smoothing out the sleeves of my cardigan. "So how did you spot my plummet? I'd imagined you'd left, since you were playing hooky."

Edward smiled at my expression and answered quite easily, "I was in my car, listening to a CD." "Oh, that sounds nice." A nice piano piece would do nicely for my nerves and sore brain at the moment. We left the office together, Edward the gentleman holding the door for me as we passed the nauseous Lee Stephens whose hand was bleeding a bit too much for either of our liking, I was sure. My nose wrinkled, "That smell is always less than pleasant. The scent of iron is never really pleasing, actually."

"You can smell blood? People usually cannot."

"I know." I glanced at him sideways, taking in his frozen look of surprise. My phone vibrated in my pocket and as I carefully looked over the text I sighed. "I don't see the point in visiting any beach in this kind of weather, but Mike seems pretty adamant about its worth." We now walked inside the building, I myself enjoying the silence of the empty hallways. It was something of a small wonder, to be in a building filled with people but you can still have silence to yourself. "Which beach?" He asked me curiously. "La Push? It's on a reservation, I believe, so I suppose they've allowed anyone into the beach." Except for vampires, of course. "Ah, well I'm not incredibly fond of beaches." This Edward was a much better liar than the one in the book or the movie, and I was pleased with this. As far as vampires went, you were nothing if you weren't cunning.

"Well, that's a shame, it would have been nice to have someone to avoid Mike with." I mirrored his grin and those topaz eyes were bright again. "How would you like me to get you out of your last class?" Though I wasn't fond of skipping art I wanted to avoid Sara's inquisition as to why I'd sit with a vampire for lunch. "That would be nice, " I didn't want to give away how thrilled I'd be if I could get home early and sleep. Edward smirked, obviously reading me slightly better this time around, and following his instruction to "sit down and look pale" we both easily got permission to leave. I retrieved my jacket, torn bag and belongings and walked to the parking lot with Edward in comfortable silence this time. "Thank you, for doing that." "Anytime."

I started towards my truck when Edward reached out and grabbed a fistful of my jacket, his grip firm on the material, his tone sharp as he yanked me back to his side. "Where do you think you're going? You honestly think I'm going to let you drive yourself home in your condition?" I glared at him, my tone cold and even. I didn't like being grabbed, no matter excuse anyone tried to use. "I'll kindly ask you to remove your hand from my jacket now, Edward Cullen. If you did not want me to drive, you could have asked me to wait, and I would have listened to you." My eyes were unforgiving and his hand slipped away from my jacket, and his eyes were ashamed. He nodded his head and offered his apologies. "I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking." "Obviously, " I offered sarcastically. Edward sighed and turned to gesture to his Volvo across the lot. "I would like to give you a ride home, to make sure you get there safely. I could have my sister Alice drop off your truck after school."

I bit my bottom lip and briefly thought over my options and decided to just go with what he wanted. Like I'd confessed to him before, he was pulling me in different directions. What I wanted, and what he wanted. I distinctly remember the anger and indignation I felt when I read New Moon, how possessive he'd grown and would not let Bella near Jacob after his return. I remembered how he'd lost his will to his wife in both Eclipse and Breaking Dawn, and realized something very staggering. He was very much human, in the figurative emotional sense. It was this epiphany, this realization that made my decision making quite easy when it came to Edward. I walked with him silently to his car and got in by myself, just as the rain started again, a light drizzle turning into a heavy downpour. I helped myself to the heat as he started the car, leaning back in my seat and staring out at the rain, appreciative of Claude Debussy's inclusion into this whole somewhat awkward situation.

"Your soul is like a painter's landscape where

charming masks in shepherd mummeries

are playing lutes and dancing with an air

of being sad in their fantastic guise.

Even while they sing, all in a minor key,

of love triumphant and life's careless boon,

they seem in doubt of their felicity,

their song melts in the calm light of the moon,

the lovely melancholy light that sets

the little birds to dreaming in the tree

and among the statues makes the jets

of slender fountains sob with ecstasy."

I softly recited the poem Clair de Lune, written by Paul Verlaine that had inspired the piece by Claude Debussy, and wasn't at all expecting the reaction I got from Edward as a result. He was still driving, but looked at me with such warmth and surprise that I was starting to feel a little insulted. Sure, not everyone like classical music, though I'm sure a lot did now ever since Clair de Lune had been mentioned in Twilight, but was it so unheard of that I liked poetry too, and wondered what had inspired 'Moonlight' ? "Is it so surprising, that I know Claude Debussy?"

"Not to mention Paul Verlaine. Did you learn of them both in your French classes?" So he knew I took French. Stalker. Kidding. "Paul Verlaine yes, Claude Debussy no, though my teachers from my other high school did bring him up. My grandmother introduced me to classical music. She introduced me to everything that most are missing out on or forgetting these days. I'm very lucky." I sighed. Half of that was true. Actually my 'real' father was responsible for introducing me to Debussy. "Tell me about your family. Your mother, your grandmother." There was that curious look now. I loved when I had him curious about me.

"Well, I resemble my grandmother the most. She has the same eyes, I'm told they skip a generation or two on account of some silly family legend dealing with gypsies and those who can 'see'. If you want superstitions by the ton, you definitely need look no further than Romania. I have my mother's hair however, her face shape, her cheekbones. I have my father's heart though, and I'm happier about that trait than any other." I smiled, this was true for both Charlie and my real father. "My grandmother taught me Romanian better than my mother ever could, and for a couple years I actually lived in Romania with her, when she left the States after my grandfather died. She was...incredibly superstitious." I didn't want to to go into too much detail, like how she'd teach me herbal remedies and taught me Tarot and palm reading, as well as protection spells. I hoped Edward wouldn't ask me to tell the tale my grandmother had told me of those with the bluebell eyes.

"How old are you, Sonia?" I snickered at that question. I obviously was 4 years older before I'd come here, but once again, I had to lie. Or I could bring back that lovely sarcasm. "Ancient. As old as time itself. How about you?" He threw me a look of exasperation and shook his head. "You really are absolutely absurd sometimes." I laughed jovially and grinned widely at Edward as he threw me another look of mild contempt before a smile crossed his stern sculpted features as well. "I'm seventeen, like you are, Sonia. Why did your mother marry Phil?" Changing the subject to avoid any suspicion I might have on his age, how clever of him.

"She married him because he took care of her, taught her to take care of herself. Though I didn't mind taking care of my mother, I'll always be grateful to Phil for taking over for me. Now my mother and I can have a mother-daughter relationship again." I glanced sideways at Edward and saw that thoughtful look on his face again. I wracked my brain trying to remember what he was going to ask me next, but ever since the pages had turned blank in my book, I was having a harder time remembering what happened next in this world.

"Would your mother so easily approve of who had your heart? Would she extend the same courtesy to you as you do to her?" He was staring at me again, intently searching for an answer before I verbally gave him one. "She trusts my judgment. I have always been a great judge of character. I'm not easy to sway or win over. She counts on this attitude of mine to counteract any foolish misgivings that I might have when it comes to love." Edward smiled ruefully, his eyes were unhappy though. Maybe he'd rather have someone he could easily sway. Ha.

"Fear can be used to sway your thoughts, would you ever choose someone that had a frightening quality about them?" I sighed and looked out the window. "I don't share the same fears as most my age. I don't scare easy, period." This answer somehow disappointed Edward, or maybe I was misinterpreting that frown on his pale lips. "Do you find any frightening qualities in me?" He asked quietly, looking over at me with one eyebrow perfectly arched and a faint smile threatening to appear. "Hmm. No. You have the ability to scare others, sure, but I'm quite confident in the fact that you could never frighten me off. If that's what you're planning, you're going to have to get creative."

"So it would seem," he murmured despondently with another frown on that beautiful face. Good thing vampires don't wrinkle. I wanted to move on to a subject revolving around him without giving away that I knew what he was, so I safely decided to ask about his family. "So you were adopted, yes? What happened to your birth parents?" There was no sadness in his tone, which was a relief. "They died many years ago. I don't remember them that clearly. Carlisle and Esme have been my parents for a long time now, and I'm happy with that." I smiled at that fact that something actually made this brooding vampire happy.

"That's always good to hear. My mother was adopted and she loves her adopted parents very much. As you do." Edward smiled and nodded slightly. "Yes, I couldn't ask for or imagine two better people. I consider myself and my brothers and sisters very lucky." I stared out at my house that we'd finally arrived at, the rain diluting the hard edges of the house. I turned to Edward, gratitude pouring out of me. "Thank you for the ride home, Edward. I might have fallen asleep had I drove home myself. Please, don't forget to drop my truck off, even though my father's most likely already heard about you graciously giving me a ride home, I don't feel like receiving a lecture on trusting strangers with my truck."

He scowled but I easily erased that expression from his face as I winked and grinned. "See you tomorrow, Edward." "I won't be here tomorrow, my brother Emmett and I are starting the weekend early." I nodded my head. Makes sense, if it's sunny tomorrow they have no choice but to start their 'camping' early. "Okay, have fun then." I opened the door and turned my legs and face to the sheeting rain, enjoy the cold and the wet far more than I had expected to. "Sonia?" I stood up on the pavement and turned to face Edward, his eyes dead set on mine, his golden irises burning with that intensity of his. I bit my lip and waited. "Please, take care of yourself this weekend. You seem to be a magnet for accidents, so please, be careful." He tried to erase any impression that he actually did care from my mind by smiling crookedly at the end of his request, but I was no fool. Even though that crooked smile was quite distracting.

"I'll try my best." I smiled even as I rolled my eyes and carefully shut his door with one arm as I balanced my belongings in the crook of my other, and watched as he drove off, smiling. I stood there, thoughtful in the rain until I realized my books were getting wet and I jettisoned into the house, my shoes squelching unpleasantly as I made my way upstairs to take a bath and fall into bed. I did just that, thinking of Edward the entire time. I could easily see why Bella fell in love with him so quickly, but the thrill had disappeared slightly once I'd caught a glimpse of how possessive he could be. I was unsure if that's what I wanted for myself. Then again, this was only the third time we'd really spoken. Perhaps, like he wasn't seeing me in my entirety, I was not seeing him in his. I took a few Tylenol and fell asleep with a slight smile on my lips, the rain soothing and my dreams pleasant.

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**Took me quite a while to finish this chapter, but here it is. I'm debating whether or not to have Vi go to the beach. I might have her meet Jacob under different circumstances, or maybe not have her meet him at all. The card I chose for this chapter is The Wheel Of Fortune, which I already have explained in the chapter. I do hope I receive more reviews this time around, and I'd like to thank the one who has been constant in their reviews,** BellaandEdward4EVER2580, **you are too kind and sweet and I appreciate you going out of your way to review my story. If you'd ever like a oneshot of your favorite pairing, I would be more than happy to write you one.**

**Once again, thank you for reading, and have a most joyous morning/afternoon/evening. 3  
**


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